We would put some money in the deal wrapping over the top of our private investors in order to control the deal and if anything defaulted we could foreclose from 2nd position and protect our underlying investors at the same time. 

If that's the case, you can't do any renovations until you have it professionally deleaded or it would be flagged for Unautohrized Deleading and you can get fined and the property would never be able to get a Lead Certificate, only a letter of Environmental Protection that states you did illegal work, got caught, then had to pay a professional to clean up the mess.

Looking for tips or language to add to a lease (especially during covid) that better protects the landlord against tenants choosing not pay.

@Andrew MenkesThe whole purpose of the LLC is to protect your personal assets.  

@Terri Haley - do you only use simply safe for water heater leak protection, or also for security? 

This will help keep your mind a little more sane, and will ensure that you have the best protection bang for your LLC buck!

I have capital finally and I am hell bent on protecting it by good rehab and good ARV to cash out all of my money and do it again.

Lots of book knowledge on real estate, business structure, and asset protection.

You should be aware that you cannot rely on this answer to provide you with any protection against tax penalties.

@Christopher Brown the question of legal entity is (obviously) a legal question, and if you're going to do real estate you'll need to form a relationship with a real estate attorney anyway, so I'd recommend you find a good real estate attorney (I can recommend a few in RI if you don't know any) and ask her/him.As a "general rule", for an active business with earned income such as wholesaling, an S corporation (either an actual corporation or LLC taxed as an S-corp) is commonly recommended, and a flow-through entity such as a single member LLC, partnership LLC or trust is commonly recommended for holding rental properties (rental income).There are subtleties between the right entity for legal protection, and for tax effectiveness, and the right answer for you and your situation might not be the right answer for someone else, so it's really a good idea to consult with an attorney and tax advisor about your specific situation and plans.